Official synopsis
An LAPD officer must put aside his differences with the area’s street gangs when he discovers a local police task force is harboring a horrific secret that endangers the residents of the housing projects he grew up in.
Review
Director Ryan Prows’ Night Patrol is destined to be a divisive horror outing. On the surface level, it’s an amalgam of an urban gang-related thriller with a horror film concerning a group of vampires. Thematically, it is a strong indictment of law enforcement including racism and police brutality. It is both rather on the nose and sometimes ill-advised in its methods regarding the latter, while being somewhat messy regarding the former.
Horror film fans who proclaim that they don’t want politics in their horror are going to have a very difficult time with Night Patrol. So are fright-fare aficionados who prefer logic in their viewing choices, one example being a ring with almost no back story that grants a bearer powers akin to being a superhero. There’s a third-act entrance by that same character (avoiding spoilers here) that, depending on who’s watching, could either garner applause or get laughed at.
Screenwriting credit goes to director Ryan Prows and three other writers, which sounds like the script may have gone through some possibly major revisions. Prows’ direction is solid, though, and the cast members throw themselves into their roles.
Night Patrol is going to be talked about a lot, both positively and negatively. It’s the type of film that viewers should watch to see on which side they might fall.
Director: Ryan Prows
Written by: Ryan Prows, Shaye Ogbonna, Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson
Cast: Jermaine Fowler, Justin Long, RJ Cyler, Freddie Gibbs, CM Punk, YG, Flying Lotus, Dermot Mulroney, Jon Oswald, Nicki Micheaux
Night Patrol, from the IFC Entertainment Group (Independent Film Company, Shudder, and RLJE Films), debuted in theaters on January 16, 2026.
